The figures make November one of the deadliest months in 2013, with civilians accounting for about 90 percent of the fatalities. The United Nations also says at least 8,000 people have lost their lives in Iraq so far this year.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has blamed the al-Qaeda terrorist group for killing thousands of people in his country, saying that the group is “destroying the houses of citizens and killing them, and blowing up government departments.”